Christopher Erhardt
Encyclopedia
Christopher Erhardt was born in Seattle, Washington in the late 1950s. He is currently the Head of School - US Campuses for the Academy of Interactive Entertainment
(AIE). He is a former Professor of Game Design and Production of DigiPen Institute of Technology.
and Arcadia, CA
. He received a bachelors of science from the University of San Francisco
, did graduate studies in Psychology at Harvard University
and acquired his Masters degree in business from Capella University
. As of 2007, he is working on a Doctoral dissertation on video game players demographic considerations. Currently he has over 19 years experience in the Interactive Media Industry, where in he was responsible for the production, design and product management of over 22 titles with such publishers as Infocom
, Activision
, Electronic Arts
, Infogrames
, and Ocean Software
of America.
Christopher Erhardt first started working at an early age, putting himself through his undergraduate degree by odd jobs that ranged from magician to fur currier to line chef. In the early 80's he was a product planner for companies such as Teledyne
and other TEMPEST
secured, MIS-based programming and project management tasks. He moved into the game industry in 1987 when Infocom
requested that his assistance in transitioning them from text-only games into graphical titles, leveraging his education in adolescent psychology to help them develop more compelling titles.
Christopher Erhardt was the President of ISOG based at Hyderabad, India till June 2009.
In December 2010, it was announced that Christopher Erhardt will be the head of the new Seattle branch of the Academy of Interactive Entertainment
where they will offer certificate programs and continuing education courses in digital media, game development, special effects and film production.
Independent Games Submission (www.indiegames.com). In 2002 he moved to Beirut, Lebanon and spent 2 years teaching game software design and production to French and Arabic speaking computer engineering students. In 2005, upon his return to the US, he approached Valve
to develop a Level Design program at DigiPen using their FPS engine. In 2006 he worked with Microsoft Game Studios
to bring XNA
product development into DigiPen and inaugurated one of the first series of C#/XNA Game Studio Express product development programs at an accredited academic institution.
In 2007 Christopher Erhardt left DigiPen Institute of Technology and moved to India to head ISOG.
Academy of Interactive Entertainment
The Academy of Interactive Entertainment is an Australian video games and 3D animation school. Founded in 1996, it was one of the world's first institutions to offer qualifications in these industries. The AIE provides courses covering CGI, animation, video game asset creation and games programming...
(AIE). He is a former Professor of Game Design and Production of DigiPen Institute of Technology.
Biography
During the first 10 years of his life, Christopher Erhardt lived in Seattle, WA, Detroit, MI, Riverside, CARiverside, California
Riverside is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, and the county seat of the eponymous county. Named for its location beside the Santa Ana River, it is the largest city in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metropolitan area of Southern California, 4th largest inland California...
and Arcadia, CA
Arcadia, California
Arcadia is an affluent city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, and located approximately northeast of downtown Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley and at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains....
. He received a bachelors of science from the University of San Francisco
University of San Francisco
The University of San Francisco , is a private, Jesuit/Catholic university located in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1855, USF was established as the first university in San Francisco. It is the second oldest institution for higher learning in California and the tenth-oldest university of...
, did graduate studies in Psychology at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
and acquired his Masters degree in business from Capella University
Capella University
Capella University is a for-profit co-educational university with partial residency requirements during the course of study, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.The school is owned by the publicly traded Capella Education Company...
. As of 2007, he is working on a Doctoral dissertation on video game players demographic considerations. Currently he has over 19 years experience in the Interactive Media Industry, where in he was responsible for the production, design and product management of over 22 titles with such publishers as Infocom
Infocom
Infocom was a software company, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that produced numerous works of interactive fiction. They also produced one notable business application, a relational database called Cornerstone....
, Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
, Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
, Infogrames
Infogrames
Infogrames Entertainment SA was an international French holding company headquartered in Paris, France. It was the owner of Atari, Inc., headquartered in New York City, U.S. and Atari Europe. It was founded in 1983 by Bruno Bonnell and Christophe Sapet using the proceeds from an introductory...
, and Ocean Software
Ocean Software
The British company Ocean Software was one of the biggest European video game developers/publishers of the 1980s and 90s...
of America.
Christopher Erhardt first started working at an early age, putting himself through his undergraduate degree by odd jobs that ranged from magician to fur currier to line chef. In the early 80's he was a product planner for companies such as Teledyne
Teledyne
Teledyne Technologies Incorporated is an industrial conglomerate primarily based in the United States but with global operations. It was founded in 1960, as Teledyne, Inc., by Henry Singleton and George Kozmetsky....
and other TEMPEST
TEMPEST
TEMPEST is a codename referring to investigations and studies of compromising emission . Compromising emanations are defined as unintentional intelligence-bearing signals which, if intercepted and analyzed, may disclose the information transmitted, received, handled, or otherwise processed by any...
secured, MIS-based programming and project management tasks. He moved into the game industry in 1987 when Infocom
Infocom
Infocom was a software company, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that produced numerous works of interactive fiction. They also produced one notable business application, a relational database called Cornerstone....
requested that his assistance in transitioning them from text-only games into graphical titles, leveraging his education in adolescent psychology to help them develop more compelling titles.
Christopher Erhardt was the President of ISOG based at Hyderabad, India till June 2009.
In December 2010, it was announced that Christopher Erhardt will be the head of the new Seattle branch of the Academy of Interactive Entertainment
Academy of Interactive Entertainment
The Academy of Interactive Entertainment is an Australian video games and 3D animation school. Founded in 1996, it was one of the world's first institutions to offer qualifications in these industries. The AIE provides courses covering CGI, animation, video game asset creation and games programming...
where they will offer certificate programs and continuing education courses in digital media, game development, special effects and film production.
Games Credited On
| Game | Role/Duty | Company |
|---|---|---|
| Total Control Football (PC) | Producer/Product Manager | Philips Media |
| Total Control Baseball (PC) | Producer/Product Manager | Philips Media |
| Centurion: Defender of Rome Centurion: Defender of Rome Centurion: Defender of Rome is a turn-based strategy video game with real-time battle sequences, designed by Kellyn Beck and Bits of Magic and published by Electronic Arts. Originally released on the DOS platform for the PC in 1990, the game was later ported to the Amiga and the Mega Drive in 1991... (SEGA) |
Executive Producer | Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers... |
| Starflight Starflight Starflight is a computer game published by Electronic Arts and developed by Binary Systems in 1986. Originally developed for DOS and Tandy, it was later released for the Amiga, Atari ST, Macintosh and Commodore 64... (SEGA) |
Executive Producer | Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers... |
| Rings of Power Rings of Power (game) Rings of Power is an isometric console role-playing game released on the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis in 1991. The game was developed by Naughty Dog and published by Electronic Arts. The player takes on the role of a young sorcerer whose quest is to collect 11 Rings of Power and use them to remake the... (SEGA) |
Producer | Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers... |
| Hard Nova Hard Nova Hard Nova is a science fiction computer role-playing game released in 1990. It was programmed by Karl Buiter and published by Electronic Arts. It was developed for DOS, Amiga and Atari ST, and is considered the follow-up to Sentinel Worlds I: Future Magic... (PC) |
Producer | Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers... |
| The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Serrated Scalpel The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes is an adventure game series developed by Mythos Software and published by the American computer game company Electronic Arts for DOS in the 1990s... |
Producer | Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers... |
| The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Rose Tattoo The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes is an adventure game series developed by Mythos Software and published by the American computer game company Electronic Arts for DOS in the 1990s... |
Video Director | Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers... |
| Noctropolis Noctropolis Noctropolis is a 1994 DOS computer third-person adventure game by Flashpoint Productions, Inc. and published by Electronic Arts. In the game, the player assumes the role of the character Peter Grey, a lonely bookstore owner who winds up in the world of his favorite comic book.-Gameplay:This style... (PC) |
Video Director | Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers... |
| Black Crypt Black Crypt Black Crypt is a computer role-playing game. It was Raven Software's debut title, and was published by Electronic Arts in 1992. Its 3D realtime style is similar to FTL Games' popular Dungeon Master, where the player leads a party of four heroes through a large dungeon to ultimately confront and... (PC) |
Producer | Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers... |
| Battletech: The Crescent Hawk's Inception BattleTech: The Crescent Hawk's Inception BattleTech: The Crescent Hawk's Inception is a turn-based adventure/RPG game released in 1988 by Westwood Studios and based on the BattleTech franchise... (PC) |
Producer | Activision Activision Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles... |
| Quarterstaff: The Tomb of Setmoth Quarterstaff: The Tomb of Setmoth Quarterstaff: The Tomb of Setmoth is an interactive fiction computer role-playing game developed by Scott Schmitz and Ken Updike and released by Infocom for Macintosh in 1988... (MAC) |
Producer | Infocom Infocom Infocom was a software company, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that produced numerous works of interactive fiction. They also produced one notable business application, a relational database called Cornerstone.... |
| Pool of Radiance Pool of Radiance Pool of Radiance is a computer role-playing game developed and published by Strategic Simulations, Inc in 1988. It was the first adaptation of TSR's Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game for home computers. It is the first in a four-part series of D&D computer adventure games... (MAC) |
Designer/Producer | Strategic Simluations, Inc. |
| Chiller Chiller (video game) Chiller is an Exidy light gun arcade game released in 1986. An unlicensed port was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1990 by American Game Cartridges, with the option of using either the standard controller or the NES Zapper. The player takes on the role of an unseen torturer who... (NES) |
Producer | ShareData |
| TV Sports: Soccer (PC) | Designer | Cinemaware Cinemaware Cinemaware was a computer game developer and publisher that released several popular titles in the 1980s based on various movie themes. The company was resurrected in 2000, before being acquired by eGames in 2005.-Cinemaware Corp... |
| Hong Kong Mahjong (PC) | Producer | Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers... |
| James Pond James Pond James Pond, also known as James Pond: Underwater Agent, is a platform video game that was developed by British video game developers Vectordean Ltd and Millennium Interactive, and published by Millennium Interactive and Electronic Arts for numerous home computers and consoles in 1990... (SEGA) |
Producer | Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers... |
| James Pond 2: Codename Robocod James Pond 2 James Pond 2: Codename RoboCod, also known as Super James Pond, is a platform video game and sequel to James Pond. The game was developed by the same British video game developers as the original game... (SEGA) |
Producer | Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers... |
| B.O.B. (SNES) | Executive Producer | Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers... |
| Sword of Sodan Sword of Sodan Sword of Sodan is a hack and slash video game released for the Amiga in 1988 by Discovery Software and Apple Macintosh System 7 in 1993 by Bethesda Softworks, with a scaled down port released for the Sega Genesis in 1990 by Electronic Arts.-Story:... (SEGA) |
Producer | Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers... |
| Battle Squadron Battle Squadron Battle Squadron is a vertically scrolling shooter for the Amiga computer platform and the Sega Genesis console, for one or two players. It is a sequel to Hybris... (SEGA) |
Producer | Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers... |
| Ultimate Pinball (PC) | Producer | GT Interactive |
| Gearheads Gearheads Gearheads is a computer game released in 1996 for the PC, Macintosh, CD-I and SNES. It was designed by Frank Lantz, Eric Zimmerman and Christopher Erhardt at Philips Media.- Gameplay :... (PC) |
Consultant Designer | Philips Media |
| Fighters Destiny Fighters Destiny Fighters Destiny, known in Japan as is a video game developed by Genki and published by Imagineer for the Nintendo 64. It closely models the 3D fighting game standard set by Sega's Virtua Fighter, but integrates a unique point scoring system... (N64) |
Executive Producer | Ocean of America Ocean Software The British company Ocean Software was one of the biggest European video game developers/publishers of the 1980s and 90s... |
| Wetrix Wetrix Wetrix is a puzzle game for the Nintendo 64 released in 1998. Ports were also released for the Dreamcast, Game Boy Color and PC.In 2000 a sequel, Aqua Aqua, was released on the PlayStation 2.-Gameplay:... (N64) |
Product Manager | Ocean of America Ocean Software The British company Ocean Software was one of the biggest European video game developers/publishers of the 1980s and 90s... |
| Star Trek 5 (PC) | Designer | Mindscape Mindscape Mindscape is an international software publishing company, previously part of The Learning Company. They are now affiliated with EA . As of 2004, the group has offices in Europe, Asia, Australia and South America. It has an annual turnover of €38 million and employs 150 people. Mindscape... |
| Spiderman (SEGA Genesis) | Designer | SEGA Sega , usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world... of America |
| Deal A Meal (PC) | Designer | GT Interactive |
| Mission: Impossible (N64) | Director of Development - USA | Infogrames Infogrames Infogrames Entertainment SA was an international French holding company headquartered in Paris, France. It was the owner of Atari, Inc., headquartered in New York City, U.S. and Atari Europe. It was founded in 1983 by Bruno Bonnell and Christophe Sapet using the proceeds from an introductory... |
Academic career
In 1998, Christopher Erhardt transitioned into an academic environment and became a Professor of Game Design and Production at DigiPen Institute of Technology. In 2000 he was responsible for co-creating, with Alex Dunne, the student submissions category of the Game Developers ConferenceGame Developers Conference
The Game Developers Conference is the largest annual gathering of professional video game developers, focusing on learning, inspiration, and networking...
Independent Games Submission (www.indiegames.com). In 2002 he moved to Beirut, Lebanon and spent 2 years teaching game software design and production to French and Arabic speaking computer engineering students. In 2005, upon his return to the US, he approached Valve
Valve Corporation
Valve Corporation is an American video game development and digital distribution company based in Bellevue, Washington, United States...
to develop a Level Design program at DigiPen using their FPS engine. In 2006 he worked with Microsoft Game Studios
Microsoft Game Studios
Microsoft Studios is the video game production wing for Microsoft, responsible for the development and publishing of games for the Xbox, Xbox 360, Games for Windows and Windows Phone platforms. They were established in 2002 as Microsoft Game Studios to coincide with the release of the Xbox, before...
to bring XNA
XNA
XNA or xna may refer to:* Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport's IATA code* X-No-Archive, a Usenet newsgroup header* Microsoft XNA, a set of free tools and technologies for game developers from Microsoft...
product development into DigiPen and inaugurated one of the first series of C#/XNA Game Studio Express product development programs at an accredited academic institution.
In 2007 Christopher Erhardt left DigiPen Institute of Technology and moved to India to head ISOG.
2005- 2007 Public Presentations
- Co-Presenter: GDCGame Developers ConferenceThe Game Developers Conference is the largest annual gathering of professional video game developers, focusing on learning, inspiration, and networking...
2005 session ('The DigiPen Video Game Curriculum: From the Game to the Classroom') - Moderator: PAXPenny Arcade ExpoThe Penny Arcade Expo is a semi-annual gamer festival held in Seattle and Boston. PAX was created by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik, the authors of the Penny Arcade webcomic, because they wanted to attend a show that gave equal attention to console gamers, computer gamers, and tabletop...
2006 ('Gaming and Controversy') - Moderator: November 2005 Game Producers Boot Camp
- Speaker: WritersUA 2006 ('User Assistance in Video Gaming')
- Panelist 2006 Games Initiative ('Applying Transferable Skill Sets')
- Panelist 2006 E3 Expo ('The New Gamemaker: Trends in the trenches of game making and publishing')
- Member: 'Seattle Bureau of Trade-2007 World Cybergames Steering Committee'
- Moderator: PAXPenny Arcade ExpoThe Penny Arcade Expo is a semi-annual gamer festival held in Seattle and Boston. PAX was created by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik, the authors of the Penny Arcade webcomic, because they wanted to attend a show that gave equal attention to console gamers, computer gamers, and tabletop...
2007 ('Growing Old in Gaming', Getting an education in Gaming') - Presenter: VGEXPO 2007 ('Education and Gaming')